Missing
by DreamStar37
Summary: Robert's words sounded cold, but Roxie knew her partner. Deep down, he was just as worried as her. For good reason too; no one had heard from Eva Rosalene or Neil Watts for five whole days. (WARNING; this fic contains some swears and minor horror, cover art made by SpicyInky)
1. Where on Earth are Eva and Neil?

"...They aren't just going to magically appear, you know" Roxie startled at her partners words, and turned to face him. "Besides, you're wasting time just standing there." Robert's words sounded cold, but Roxie knew her partner. Deep down, he was just as worried as her. For good reason too; no one had heard from Eva Rosalene or Neil Watts for five whole days.

It was normal for Neil to miss a day or two from time to time, he'd been working himself ragged lately, and at the right angle dark bags could be seen under his eyes, hidden behind his reflective glasses.

Eva though, she very rarely missed work. Roxie could recall one too many times the poor woman had come into work sick, diligently working away with her office lights dimmed, a cup of tea in hand.

This however, was worrying. She recalls seeing them, hauling Neil's secret machine outside. They'd claimed there was a new client, and that it might be a long mission dismissively. However when she had checked the roster three days later, there was no such thing. No one had seen them, or heard from them since. All her frantic texts went unanswered, and every call went straight to voicemail. They had to be in trouble, there was no other explanation. What if-

"You're doing it again, Rox" She blinked up at Robert. His expression softened slightly, and he sighed "I know you're worried, if it'd help, we can try to look for them. We don't have any clients right now."

Wait, did he mean- "Can we, Rob? Don't we... we have work to do here still" He nodded and her heart soared.

"I've already completed all the work ahead of time, while you were spacing out here. Once you're ready we can-" Robert paused as she zoomed past him into her office, and less than a minute later she was standing in front of him again.

"Okie dokie Loki pockie! I'm all ready to go!" She grinned up at him, practically bouncing. He turned away towards the elevator.

"Alright, let's go then" Roxie still caught the little smirk he tried to hide, despite his best efforts, and followed him down hall.

Half an hour later, they were standing outside Neil's apartment. Robert stood awkwardly next to Roxie as she picked the lock, blocking the view for any would be witnesses.

He huffed impatiently "Rox, how much longer-" she suddenly bolted up and swung the door open with a flourish, causing him to jolt back.

"Alrighty dighty! I've always wanted to check out Neil's place~" She was already inside, leaving her partner to trail after her. Robert flicked the lights on and they took in their surroundings.

It looked... empty. There was your basic furniture but barely any decoration. Junk was scattered here and there, a spare lab coat laying on a chair, dirty dishes stacked in the sink, a single potted plant near the kitchen window, some papers on the coffee table. It was... well, it was exactly what they'd expected of Neil. His bedroom yielded similar results. They turned towards the door dejectedly, ready to move on to the next location when something caught Roxie's eye. She stopped and turned towards Neil's desk, carefully pushing a pile of work tools to the side. It was a blueprint, specifically, the blueprint to his machine. It was more scrawled notes than blueprint if she was being honest. Trying to decipher this would certainly take a while-

"What's the holdup, Roxie?" She turned to face Robert, who was peeking in from the hallway.

"Nothing, nothing~ C'mon, let's get outta here, Robbie" she chirped as she tucked the paper into her coat pocket, striding past him out of the apartment.

Eva's apartment looked more lived in then Neil's had. Pictures were hung up on the walls portraying friends and family, a good portion even contained coworkers from the office. Roxie couldn't help but find herself smiling at one of her and Eva, an office party if she recalled correctly. Multiple potted plants dangled from the ceiling, and even more on tables and counters.

"They look... dry" She heard Robert mention behind her, taking a closer look at said plants, she couldn't help but agree. The soil had turned crumbly, and some of the leaves were yellowing.

"Eva would never let her plants get this bad..." She sighed, wherever Eva was, she hadn't come home in a while. One thorough search later just left the two doctors feeling frustrated. Roxie flopped down on the couch with an exaggerated sigh, and glanced upside down at the other. "Sooo... now whaAAHHHH!" she screamed just as a loud BRIIIIIING rang through the room. "Hey! Uncool Rob!" she yelled indignantly from her new position on the floor, "I can see you trying not to laugh! Ouch..." she grumbled as he hurried away to find the source of the noise.

As it turned out, the sound was coming from Eva's home phone. Roxie watched as her partner answered "...hello?" She could hear frantic yelling coming from the other end, Robert held the phone a little farther away from his ear. "No, my name is Robert Lin, I'm one of Eva's coworkers... yes... I'm sorry, no... do you know where she might be? ...Alright, thank you." After placing the phone back on it's charger, he turned back towards her and remained silent for a few seconds "...Why haven't you gotten back up yet?"

Grinning, she finally rolled onto her stomach and stood up straight. "The floor was pretty comfy after that phone nearly gave me a heart attack, who was that anyways?" He was messing with his own phone now, Roxie leaned forward a bit in curiosity.

"Eva's sister, Traci. She hasn't been able to contact her either, but mentioned a few places we could look-" "Great! Where to first, Rob?!"

He blinked at her "I know you're excited but please..." her grin fell slightly and he sighed "...she mentioned someplace called 'Anya'"

Now it was her turn to be confused, so she turned her head to the side, eyes narrowed "You don't mean... the lighthouse?"


	2. WinLin for the soul

It was... well, it was a lighthouse. There was a pair of graves at the base, it's windows were all boarded up, and the light up top was shining dimly, there really wasn't much else to say... wait. Roxie squinted up at the structure. If it was abandoned, then how could-

"Come on Roxie, let's see what's up there." The old door creaked loudly as Robert strode inside. Casting a quick glance at the graves, she followed her partner inside. He was already partway up the spiral stairs, his pace quickened by the solemn feeling in the air. It was damp and stuffy, almost suffocating, a faint buzzing sound was coming from above. The sounds of her footsteps echoed back as she chased him up, but right at the end he jolted to a stop, causing her to run face first into his back.

"Geez Rob, a little warning would've been-" Roxie reeled back in horror, her hand instinctively clutching the other's arm. A dream machine sat near the center of the room, it's console glitched to hell. She could just barely make out the words 'ERROR' and 'SYSTEM FAILURE' amongst all the static, and there, sprawled next to the machine was Eva and Neil. Their helmets were flashing red, and they were shaking violently, hands grasped together in a white-knuckled grip.

Roxie absentmindedly felt Robert gripping her shoulders, he was frowning deeply, eyes locked on their coworkers. She couldn't tell if he was trying to hold her together, or himself. They stood there frozen for a long moment, visibly shaking and mesmerized by the sight in front of them.

It was Robert who moved first, his moments staggered and forced. He kept one hand on her arm though, pulling her across the room. She followed on autopilot, still trying to process the scene before her. Her vision seemed painfully vivid, the colors so disorienting she felt sick.

They looked... bad. Skin sickly pale, covered in a cold sweat. She could see blue veins hidden under skin, hair knotted into a tangled mess. The only thing keeping them sitting upright was each other, slumped against the wall, their helmets were making a worrying rattling sound as they shook.

"xie... Rox?" She blinked at him slowly, he sounded far away. His grip on her arm tightened, and she latched onto the feeling like a lifeline. Forcing herself to focus on the here and now. She quick shook her head to reorient herself as Robert pulled her down to the machine, a bit gentler this time. The flashing lights of the screen burned, she squinted in annoyance and began typing.

This... this wasn't right. No matter what code she input, it all just resulted in that unsatisfying error sound. It had been hours and they'd gotten nowhere. She slowly sat upright from where she'd been slouching, stretching out the stiffness. With a sigh, she glanced over at her current patients.

While she was working, Robert had eased them down into a laying position on the floor. A chill ran up her spine, and she sorely wished she was wearing her lab coat. But they had both sacrificed their coats, to at least cushion Eva's and Neil's heads from the uncomfortable wooden floor.

Robert had left about an hour ago as well, to retrieve two more helmets. A last ditch effort. It felt ominous here without him, the only light coming from the malfunctioning machine before her. It caused the shadows to dance and sway, and she had to work doubly hard to not get distracted by them.

She was trying to remain positive, that was the thing she was known for after all. If she put up that face, never let anyone see just how worried she really was, it would be fine. Even if they thought she was wacky, or annoying. So long as no one pried, she could control it. But now, alone with her two beloved coworkers who may or may not be dying- It... it was hard to pretend without someone to reflect off of.

The sound of echoing footsteps signaled Robert's return. As she turned to face the stairs, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, he appeared carrying their helmets and a large fluffy blanket.

"Have you been able to make any progress?" he mused while placing the helmets on the floor. Roxie couldn't help but groan, rubbing her temples in frustration.

"Not much... everything I do just gets rejected, it's almost as if the dang thing is actively fighting me!" Ok, deep breath, everything's fine... "Rob we... we have to get them out of there. We can't move them too much in this state..." She watched as he sat down next to her, pulling the blanket over both their shoulders.

"...I know, I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. We don't know what's in there but... we have to try" Roxie stared at her partner for maybe a moment too long, they'd been working together for so long now. A majority of the teams at Sigmund were paired like this, opposite personalities working in tandem. They balanced each other; she helped him express himself, and he helped her stay calm. One cannot work without the other, two ever turning cogs.

In this moment, Roxie was more grateful then ever to have such an amazing partner. She hugged him tightly, and laughed at the look of surprise on his face which melted into a sad smile.

They were ready, it was time to enter Neil's machine.


	3. Everything's Alright

It took some getting used to, fighting the machine process only led to headaches, the toughest hurdle new employees had to overcome.

Roxie felt the world around her slip away, the colors becoming muted and blurry before fading into a familiar inky darkness. The first thing that came to her was static. She could feel it, burning hot and tingly, yet not quite painful. Sight and sound came next, and she regretted it. Bright colors danced across her vision; cyan, magenta, yellow, green.

There were no memories here, instead they found themselves floating in what looked to be an interface. Something akin to TV static was drumming distantly in her ears, a quick glance at her partner confirmed he was feeling the same thing. His face was all scrunched up, and while she would normally tease him for such a sour expression, there was work to be done.

Navigating such a place turned out to be harder than previously thought. No matter how far they traveled it seemed as though they weren't actually moving. The only indication that they were making ground was the scattered memory fragments. Just as glitched as the surrounding environment; chunks of the office, vines stretched for miles, what appeared to be jellyfish and sharks. Roxie swore she could see stars behind the static.

They traversed in silence, occasionally she would glance at her partner, hoping to make some sort small talk to fill the empty air. But she kept faltering at his expression, distant and faraway, like he wasn't really here. It was understandable, she felt the same. The only thing keeping her anchored was the feeling of his hand in hers, she squeezed his hand and gave him a pained smile. He blinked, his expression softening slightly before becoming determined.

Something could be seen up ahead, cyan and magenta lights clashing, leaving behind strange bright glitches in their wake. The static had risen in intensity to a roar, and if this were her real body Roxie bet her ears would be bleeding, or at the very least she'd have some sort of hearing loss.

Closer inspection revealed two figures at the center of it all. The very thing the tired doctors had been searching for, Neil and Eva, their friends. Roxie felt a moment of relief at having found them, before the reality set in.

They were fighting, Eva's skin was covered in bright cyan lines, and Neil was sporting similar Magenta ones. They were hurling balls of colored energy at each other, a dangerous crackling sound accompanied every attack which made the hair on the back of her neck bristle.

"Don't make me erase that charming face" she heard Eva's garbled voice say.

"The only thing that'll be erased is your pretty face" the glitched Neil retorted, his grin maniacal.

Were they... flirting? It seemed like they hadn't spotted the new arrivals yet, their focus completely tuned on the battle.

Robert looked like he'd rather be anywhere but here.

"...Do we, uh, do we interrupt them?" Roxie turned to her partner, unsure. The air had become extremely tense, and she felt an intense instinct to run, to get away from what ever the hell was happening here, find a nice corner to curl up in and just scream. She shoved the impulse to the back of her mind, Eva and Neil needed her to be strong right now. There wasn't any time for fear-

She felt Robert tense beside her, but before she could react he practically tackled her out of the way with a shout. Something blinding white shot past her, just barely missing coming into contact with the back of her head. Raising a shaky hand, she felt a section of her hair that had been singed, white hot particles of the energy stuck to what was left. Roxie thanked her lucky stars that this was just a simulation, but still, how had it managed to-

Something like a growl, low and deep, came from the man beside her. Robert was still holding her firmly after that scare, but she could feel him shaking again. His eyes were locked on a lone figure, surrounded by a particularly bad area of glitches. She didn't recognize them, all features were obscured by grey static, yet it stood out like a sore thumb. It was the only thing gray in an ocean of neon. She shook her head, trying to get a better look.

It felt like she was on fire. Her surroundings blurred into a stark white, until nothing but the person before them remained. Then they too, faded. The last thing she remembered feeling was Robert, his grip on her shoulders faltering as he collapsed.

Then white, and burning pain. Roxie felt herself falling into nothingness. Like she was everywhere and nowhere all at once, and then, she let go.


	4. LetRobertSayFuck

She could still hear the static, it thrummed in her ears to the beat of her heart. Her head felt hot, or maybe she didn't have a head anymore. It was hard to tell, everything hurt ...was she dead? Dying? What was she?

...Burning

...She was burning

Jerking alert, Roxie yanked her helmet off her head, chucking it to the side with a hiss when it zapped her hand. It rolled to a stop next to Robert's helmet, abandoned in the corner.

Wait, Robert- where?

"That was, what the fUCK?!-" He was pacing, head in his hands. Roxie stared in shock, he was-

"Rob, you're bleeding-!" Patches of his hair were soaked in blood, thin lines trailed down his face, dripping onto this sweater. He stopped his pacing for a moment to shoot her a pointed look, before continuing his rambling. She huffed, and wiped the sweat from her forehead. What the hell just happened? Why were Eva and Neil fighting? Why did they look like that? Who the hell was- why the hell was her hand covered in blood?! Oh, oh... Glancing at the forgotten helmets revealed that some of the inner panels had come loose. In the dim light, she could see smears of dark red. Looks like she had her work cut out for her.

"siiigh" Robert wasn't looking at her "SIIIIIIIIIIGH"

"Roxie, saying 'sigh' out loud will change nothing" He was keeping his voice low, getting zapped out of the simulation had bloomed into a major headache. Both literally and figuratively. They'd thrown the blanket over the malfunctioning machine for the time being, neither wanted to deal with the light show it was putting on. With a huff, she went back to fiddling with the helmet currently in her lap. In the corner of her vision, she watched her partner move towards their patients.

Their state was the same as it was several hours ago, shaking and freezing cold. They needed to hurry, the sooner they got them out and in a hospital the better.

"...Their hands are stuck together" What.

"what?" She looked over again at Robert, he was holding Neil and Eva's hands up. Somehow, despite the fact that they were unconscious, he couldn't get them to stop holding hands.

"That is... strangely adorable" Roxie mumbled "aaaaaand, perfect blackmail material!" She snapped a photo before returning to her work.

"Roxie..." Robert started with a disapproving tone, glancing down at their sleeping friends "...at least send it to me, Neil is never going to live this down." She grinned, texting him the photo while trying not to laugh.

The helmets had been fixed for fifteen minutes now, Roxie staring at them apprehensively while Robert looked everywhere except the tech. Neither of them wanted to relive their last disaster of a simulation, the resulting headache would probably put them out of commission for at least a week. Well, better late then never. Roxie grabbed her helmet, hands definitely NOT shaking, and jammed it on her head. She vaguely registered Robert putting his helmet on too, before the room melted away for the second time that day.

As the simulation bled back into her vision, it was immediately clear that something had changed. A solid wall of text stood before them, stretching out in all directions almost endlessly. Behind it, Roxie thought she could see two figures, ever locked in battle. The staticy crackle sounded muffled, but she still found herself tensing up. Robert had grabbed her hand again, his grip so tense it was almost painful. Like he was afraid she'd just dissapear, that he'd lose her. Something in the barrier began to shift. Condensing into something like a blackhole, void of color. It was standing between them and the wall.

Glitched green eyes locked on blue.


	5. Glitchy Bear Hug

Roxie decided that everything about this situation sucked. The urge to curse out the 'whateverthefuckthatis' in front of her was tempting, her jaw clenched. Best not to aggravate the technological monstrosity, lest it try to shoot them again.

The tense stare down lasted some minutes, as the three waited for the others to make a move. The edges of her vision were tinged white, but she was prepared for it this time. That... thing was trying to kick them out again. Eyes narrowed, she clenched her free hand into a fist. The feeling of her nails digging into her palm helped her focus. Do. Not. Flip off. The glitchy thing.

The ever changing static stilled for a moment, before it was suddenly upon them. Robert seemed to anticipate this, as he yanked Roxie to the side with him, narrowly avoiding a glitchy bear hug.

Electric crackling filled the air, just as that same white hot energy grazed her leg. Gasping in pain, she watched in abject horror as her leg glitched out, before settling. Some residual static had stubbornly attached itself to her, a feeling sort of like it had just fallen asleep spread throughout the limb. That was, not good. Another ball of energy shot past her face, probably best not to get distracted.

It was hard to gauge where exactly their pursuer was, every movement leaving being an imprint on the environment, ghosting. The balls of energy were a similar situation, jumping about at random, never sure where they were going to hit until it was already to late.

A particularly well aimed attack had separated Roxie from Robert several minutes prior. He was a good distance away, attempting to dodge the bullet hell and get back to her at the same time. Chunks were missing from his long lab coat, particles of energy clinged, sparkling like lonely stars.

The monotone entity was growing bolder, or maybe it was just losing patience with them. Several smaller white fires burned into existence around her partner, cornering him against the barrier. Another attack was prepared, bigger and brighter than the last, burned into her vision like a sun.

Roxie felt herself lurch forward, a hand outstretched. A small part of her knew it was no use, she was just too far away, there was no way she could save him. But another part of her rejected that notion entirely.

Childish, frightened and selfish, NO! It screamed. She didn't want to be alone! If she could just move fast enough, get to him in time, protect him like he did for her... Then everything would be fine, he would be fine and he would be here with her, and they would save Eva and Neil. They could all go home, and eat ice cream and feel safe.

Eva would shake her head in mock disapprovement, a glint of mirth in her eyes.

Neil would crack a joke, trying to get a rise out of both Eva and Robert.

Robert... he, he would be...

Roxie could only watch in horror as the energy collided with Robert's chest, and exploded into a glitched mess. His mouth opened in a silent scream his body started destabilizing. Then his eyes locked with hers, wide and afraid, before he was completely consumed by the static.

A hitched sob escaped her. Clasping her hands over her mouth, shaking in grief, the gravity of the situation finally dawned on her. Somehow, they were able to get hurt in here, were able to DIE in here. Without Robert by her side, she suddenly felt smaller than she ever had.

Now she really was alone.


	6. Breathe

She couldn't breathe. Tears ran tracks down her cheeks, warm and salty, almost comforting, like an old friend.

For a moment, Roxie didn't think about Eva and Neil. All she wanted was to see Robert again, to see that he was alright. Selfish, childish thoughts. She was an easy target, clutching her eyes closed she braced herself for the inevitable.

...

She... she was still here. Roxie opened her eyes hesitantly, glancing over at the... that. It wasn't moving, almost like it was observing her. Something primal began to burn in her chest.

How... how DARE it rip away her partner like this, then not even have the decency to finish her off swiftly. "Wh- what the fUCK ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!" she screamed over the static. It's eyes narrowed, the entire frame darkening in malice. Roxie steadied herself, puffing out her chest and looking them dead in the eye, unwavering. "You... I don't know what you are, but-" A shaky breath "You're getting in, you're... standing, in my way. I want my friends back and you, you're not gonna stop me."

...Nothing, it still wasn't responding. "Stop STARING at me like that, just STOP IT! Why are you DOING this, WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" She heaved in a deep breath, the mini rant having exhausted her. It's head shifted slightly, in confusion?

"̟̝͈̙̉͒͘Ĩ̜͙̤͖͍͉.̺̄͗̋ͅ.͕̾.͕̘͖̳͉̯̩͊"̶̩͕͔ͭ̌̉͗͊̔́ Garbled words, like it was trying to speak through an old speaker on the fringes of it's radio tower. Now curious, Roxie leaned forward slightly.

I͙͇͌ͨ̄͟ ̨̫̣͊ͯͪ͗ͫ̚w̩̱͉͕͙̺͔ͮa̝ͧ̌̊͌̓ͤṉ̷͚͚̹ͬt̥̙̱͇̠̥͔̓ͥ̃ͫ͜ ͈̲̘͚͙̮͔ͫ͒y̵̲̥̝͙̫̩o͒̄̎̓̿҉̣̩u̦̹̳͎̹̳̓̊ͮ̈͋͑ ̩̋ͤ̋̂̌O̦͉̻͇͎̐ͤ͐ͥͫU̟̯̳͖̤̎͛͛ͩ͛Ť̶͉̼̣̻ͥ̑̈ͣ!̖͕̩̺̳̰̽̾̈̈̀́ The static roared like a typhoon in her ears. Flinching back, she raised an arm to try and block her eyes from the new onslaught of light. Flames nipped at her coat, completely surrounding her.

e̢͆ͫ̐ͯ̆̌ͭ͊ͬ̾̾͊͆͌͛ͤͭͪ̄͢͡҉̭̹͚̠̥͖̥̰́y̏ͥ́͒̌͑̌̎̈́̒̽ͤ̐̚͏̴͍̠͔͖͕̘̺̤̻̫͕̥̲̩͓͎̀ͅa̶̵̛͎̤̠͚̱̮ͮ̄̄ͨͭ̇̃͌̔̆ͫͮͬ́͞Fͬ́͂͋̃͏̥̹̞̬͎͇̬͎̰ materialized another ball of that accursed energy, holding it up almost like a trophy. Roxie simply stared, her mind blank. Now, facing her own demise again, she realized she wasn't ready anymore.

In what felt like slow motion, she watched as the energy hit her square in the chest. A feeling, like her rib cage had just collapsed in on itself, overwhelmed her. White dots danced in her vision, like millions of fireflies amidst a neon sea, taunting her. As her body destabilized, she felt every atom, every pixel, wither away and die. She was both on fire and freezing all in one moment. What lasted only a few seconds felt like an eternity. Hell. This was hell.

Her vision had shifted back into over saturated white, void of everything but the very being that had caused it. She thought she heard something, soft and calm, wind chimes and guitar chords. She couldn't be sure though, since she didn't really exist anymore.

.̴̘̼̗̻͈ͤ̑̆̂͂̕.̴̜̩̖̟̹̪̌̄͐ͥ̎̇ͮ̆͋͜ͅ.̶̢̹̦̟̻̺ͩͧͭ̑̇ͥͪͤG̸͔̠͍̙͕̬͙ͦ͜ͅö̻͔͙̭͗ͮ͆̄̋̏ͦ̍͘͘o̖̮͎ͮ̇̀͟d̢̨͚̪̱̻̣͈͑ͫͣ̍ͤb̸̺̺̯͈̲̠̫͈̏̈͊ͣ̌̆̿̀̐͝ỳ̷̰̯͖̬͂̈́̊̓͂͟e̸̜̩̙̭͕͓̔ͨ͋́̅́ͩ̈́̎ͅͅ,̸̻͙̰̱̙͙͚̘̏ͦ̏͊ͪͯ͡ ̵̞̝̰̜͍̺͈̖̖̂ͣ̌̐͋̔̀̚R̎̉̋̊ͨͧ̌͛҉̘̬̙̱̱̘͔͙ͅõ̭͍͕͔̓͂̍ͥx̸̪̠̦̩͐̈͐ỉ̢͙̳̘̅e̢͚̘̩͊͌̚̕.̡̠̝̫̣͕̤̫̈̃͢

.

.

.

Robert was falling. Or at least, he thought he was. The last thing he'd seen, burned into his subconscious. Roxie. Tears brimming in her eyes, hand outstretched, a silent plea.

Around the time they'd first started working together, getting to know each other... Roxie had made him promise that if thing's got bad, that he'd have her back. With that worried smile, a fear barely hidden behind deep blue. He couldn't find it within himself to say no. While she could be annoying, she'd won over a part of his heart.

He would do anything to protect that smile...

Anything except keep the one promise he'd made to her, apparently.

Deep down, he didn't want to be alone either.

Robert awoke with a start, wheezing in pain. If he'd thought the first time had been bad, he now felt one hundred times worse. A zap from his helmet nearly left him unconscious again, in barely contained fury, he wrenched it off and spiked the damn thing against the wall. It shattered into pieces, another short circuit lighting up the small room briefly before fading for a final time. He would be paying for it later, but it felt good. Neil could fix it, this was his fault in the first place. Roxie needed the rest after all- Wait.

Roxie.

She was laying on the floor, exactly where she'd been before they went back in. He collapsed at her side, a worried hand hovering over her. She was shaking almost as violently as Neil and Eva were, a deep frown etched her sweat soaked face. Carefully, he held her in his arms. One hand gently supported her head, tangling in her blood soaked hair. Her breathing was irregular, short hitched gasps. She was... crying, tears running tracks down and soaking the collar of her sweater.

She would wake up any second now, booted from the simulation just as he was. A minute passed, then several more, and she was still not waking up. He hugged her tighter, heart pounding in his chest. If he just held her tight enough, hoped hard enough, then nothing would take her... right?

After what felt like an eternity, something finally changed. Her hand twitched slightly, just enough for Robert to notice. She jolted in his arms, a strangled scream escaping her. Removing her helmet for her, he waited for her to reorient to reality. Her head snapped up, locking eyes with his.

"...Rob?" Roxie croaked, and he nodded slowly. She threw her arms around him, and he immediately returned the gesture. Her hands balled into fists, gripping his sweater as she sobbed freely. He could feel himself crying too, and tried to control his breathing. Roxie needed him to be strong right now.

"Wh- what do we do now, Rob?" her voice wavered, high pitched and cracking in too many emotions at once. "We can't just... LEAVE them in there!"

"We won't, Rox... we'll figure something out" he was trying to be positive, channeling his own inner Roxie. Doubt ate away at his confidence, making his voice sound low and flat... She felt cold, the chill of the lighthouse making them shiver. Letting go of her for a second, he went to retrieve her lab coat from under Eva's head, adjusting his own to cushion both their friends simultaneously. Sitting back down, he passed Roxie her coat.

"...Huh?" Something had fallen out of her pocket, was that a... paper? Roxie's eyes lit up, and she snatched the paper off the floor, unfolding it in wonder. Robert leaned over, looking at the messy handwriting with interest. It seemed to be a blueprint of some sort, a lot of technobabble he didn't understand overlaying an intricate sketch of a dream machine. He glanced at Roxie, hoping for some context, but she was so absorbed in reading she didn't even notice him. With a soft sigh, he waited for her to finish.

"Rob... Robert!" The sound of Roxie's voice startled him awake. Whoops, he must have dozed off. She was grinning at him, tired eyes filled with hope. "Do you know what this means?!" He blinked slowly at her.

"Roxie, you know I'm not a tech..." he began, but she shook her head.

"This is Neil's blueprint, no wonder none of my fail safes worked, he made up his own!" She shoved the paper in his faced, pointing at a small area of chicken scratch in the corner of the page. He nodded, pretending to understand. She scooted over to Neil's machine and began typing.

"Ok, when I say go, I want you to unplug them" She said over her shoulder. Robert pushed himself back up, shuffling over to their patients. He was too old for this, the second he got back to the office he was going to take at least a week sick leave. Black speckles tinged his vision, and he placed his hand on the wall for support for a second, as his vision was completely swallowed up by the inky darkness. It was only a few seconds, after blinking rapidly he was back in action. Positioning himself near Neil and Eva's heads, he managed to locate the correct wires with Roxie's help.

"Alrighty... three, two, one, GO!" Robert disconnected the wires, just as Roxie hit enter with a dramatic flourish. A series of words rapidly flashed on the machines screen.

Ȅ̶̖͖͖̇̈̽̚̕R̴̞̙͎̉̿ͫ͌R̺̝̽̇̐͂͒͋ͦ̀̀Ỏ͑̅҉̛͉̳R̝͈̗̪̖̲̥͐͐ͬͯͦͦ̂ͫ͗

È͍̺̻̦͈̞̯͙͍ͯͩV̷̬̖̻͕ͯ̂ͣ͐̚͟Ȁ̞͍͔̱̮͙̯̘̒͐ ̨͚͖̱͍͈̗̱̣̩̋͊̊́Ŕ̭̖̭͊ͤ̽́͗͗̓O̺̻̮͒͗̏̈̓̃̇̐̀͜͢S̵̖̬̝̳̎ͫ͂̐͐A̢̢̮̺̳̅́̂͘Ḽ̸͎͇͇͛͋̆͊͘E̢͍͎̭̥̹̫̪̙̼͊̇̕͢N̡̡̡̩̗̯̪̐̌ͩͥ̚E͔̖̳̋͋̈́ͩ̕̕ ̓ͬ͑ͭ́͏͙͙D̡̞̗͉̠͖̘̘͎̆̽̈ͧ͠Ọ͐ͨ̾ͤ̏̂͛̀Ę̙͕̑̂̕S̡̥̝̥͎̞̝̿ͥ͋̓͌ͣ͗̽ͫ ̜ͬ̍ͬ͜ͅÑ̯͍̹̜͔̅͐̋̽ͪ̀͢͡O̧̜̖͕͉͖̙̫̪ͫ̋͋Ť̬̮̹͉ͮ ̶̧̯̯͙̃ͨ́́ͣͭ͘Ė̥̤̪͚̦̣́̒̄͗̈̕ͅẊ̫̦̠͚͉͕̳̥͚̃Ì̷̖̣̩̼̫͙̱̘ͣ̀S̙̫̪̥̞̺̄̆̏ͣ͐̀͝Ṱ͉̟̯̭̮̙̓͆͘

N͎̤͋͒̑̊̅͊ͦ̚E̹͇̭̗̫̝̟ͤ̑̍̎̃͗Ì̶͍̻̫̻̤̱̤ͮ͗͗͛̇ͥ͘͢L̪̥̪͖̤͈͇̳̼ͥ͌ͯͦ̚ ̶̝̰͎̟̉͊͢W̜̺̓̆ͫ͌͢ͅA̴̢̱͙͖̰̱̞̭̱̒T̛̈́ͩ̈́̐͊ͧ́͋҉̝͔T̯̗̰̤̐ͮ̐Ș̖͎͕̺̹͆̎̐̃̈́ͯ̉̚͡ͅ ̜͒ͦ́͢Ď̴̡̤̤̪ͩ̀Ǫ͕̬͉̦͍̾͛̓̌̚E̢͓̪̩̝͉̫̖̯̅͑̈́͌͋ͤ̐̀S͋̀̍̈́̀̐ͫ͌҉͖͜ ̖̤̒͒̎̂ͅŅ̞̹̻̮̪̄̓ͯ̚͘Oͣ̾ͦ͑͌͂́͏̻͎̠͙͙T̰͙̹ͥͤ̕ ̬̓̅͂͆ͯ̀̈ͦE̙̼̫̩̣͇̟͑̑͛͐̑̉̐̓̚̕X̸̭͙͈̘̟̃̍̊ͨ̀͞I̢̤͇̱̼̯͚̭͑ͬ̋́̀͆ͯͅṠ̴̯̗̑̑͛̄̔̏ͫ͜T̬͙͔̄̂̈͠͞

The dream machine gave a few more death throws, before the screen died, plunging the four doctors into darkness.


	7. Afterimage

It was a scenario Roxie was used to; florescent lights, the smell of disinfectant, a steady beeping in the background. Though, usually her patients were... a bit older.

She shifted uncomfortably in her chair, stretching her back with a satisfying crack. Note to self, stop falling asleep in chairs. She cast a glance over at her colleagues.

Neil and Eva were asleep in their respective hospital beds. They were looking slightly healthier, veins no longer visible unless you were looking, a bit less pale... Dark bags were still under their eyes, though. It was strange seeing Neil without his glasses, a nurse had removed them during the examination. They sat forgotten on the tray next to it's owner's head.

Robert was slumped slightly in the vinyl recliner, sound asleep. His breathing slow and even, she felt a bit calmer knowing he was alright. She gently placed a spare blanket over him, smiling softly. He shifted slightly, his head lolling to the side as the faintest hint of a smile graced his lips. The bandages on his head crinkled quietly, once the hospital staff were sure sleeping logs weren't dying they'd made her and Rob get a checkup. Walking into a hospital with a lot of dried blood in your hair, two comatose adults being dragged behind, didn't exactly go unnoticed. She pawed at the bandages adorning her own head absentmindedly, such a headache...

She turned back towards the beds. All four doctors had a major case of bedhead going on, Eva's hair was the longest of them all, and the most unruly. Grabbing her chair, she moved it next to Eva's bed as quietly as possible, and sat down with a sigh. Ever prepared, she pulled a comb out of her pocket and set to work...

Within five minutes, part of the comb broke off. Eva's hair was simply too powerful. Stuffing the damaged comb back in her pocket, she began attempting to comb Eva's hair with her fingers. It was soothing, easing in to the repetitive motions. Without thinking, she started braiding the untangled hair.

R̺͕̖͇͈͐̋ͬͫ͗̚ ̘̻̳̪̲̗͓͕̙ͬ̒͝ǫ̵͇̹̲̤̲͚̫̖ͭ̐̌ͥ̀́ ͍̹͖̠̹̹̎ͣx̠͉̲̗̂ͬ͑ ̢̎͏͉̬i̟͍͈̖̪̳̱̽̽͆̏̆̾͠ ͕͓͖͈̤̰͓͖̓̂̑̅̑̏̍̔̀͢e̴̫̲̻̝̯̊́

...Roxie awoke to a face full of hair, and it wasn't even hers. It took her longer then it should have to realize this. Her head was filled with the memory of static, a faint ringing droning in her ears. There was a voice, quiet and soft, twinkling like freshly fallen snow... cold.

Slowly, she lifted her head, strands of black hair falling back down onto the hospital bed. Eva was mumbling something, her head moving back and forth slightly, hands clenching into fists. Her breathing sounded strained... it was hard for Roxie to make out the words.

The headache was not helping either, she leaned in closer, holding her breath. Then...

Eva opened her eyes.

After the initial confusion and panic had passed, Eva just looked tired. She was staring at the ceiling, a faraway look in her eyes. Strangely, Roxie thought she could see a hint of cyan nestled among the deep brown... Nah, it was probably just the lighting, darn these fluorescent lights.

Roxie was concerned, no one had ever been stuck in a dream machine for so long, and for good reason too. The process was incredibly taxing, the longest missions usually lasted 24 hours with occasional breaks. But Eva and Neil had been in the machine for nearly six days straight.

"You Ok, hun?" She found herself asking, a pit forming in her gut. Eva blinked, but didn't look at her, just kept staring up.

"...I don't know" Eva's voice was barely above a whisper. "When... when I was in there, I wasn't myself." Her brown eyes were wide with terror, fear of herself, fear of her actions. "All I knew was I had to fight. Some part of the machine... it, it called out to me."

Roxie hung on every word, like if she so much as breathed wrong Eva would stop again.

"...I tried to fight it, at first, but I was just so tired... it wanted to do what it, what it was made for."

Eva's gaze finally shifted, towards Neil. For a long moment she remained silent.

"Neil got the... the other half. He went on and on about the patients, their regrets... their fears. That a part of them remains in the machine, even after death."

A pained look crossed her face, in an emotion Roxie couldn't understand.

"I... I didn't even recognize him, all I could think about was to fight- to destroy what he was representing, we were nothing but puppets- and then..."

The image of her coworkers flirting surfaced in Roxie's memory, did Eva remember-?

...Yep, Eva was blushing, looking pointedly anywhere in the room that wasn't alive. Roxie tried not to smirk, and failed miserably. It was the same old Eva that she knew and loved.

A pained grumble startled both women out of their thoughts, Neil was stirring. His face scrunched up instinctively, before slowly opening his eyes.

Roxie felt her shoulders tense, her whole body flinching back about an inch. For a moment there...

Neil's eyes had flashed magenta.


End file.
